Any new updates??

 

I haven't made earth-shattering progress lately. I'm working on one of the hardest parts of the project - gathering $ for parts. I made up a list of stuff that I want to get for the body as well as a flywheel/clutch/pressure plate and I need ~$900.00 worth to get the body back on properly. I haven't done much to the rolling chassis recently but I have spent a lot of time cleaning, painting and re-bundling wires in the engine bay. Here are some pics of what has been done lately.



Rick B.

Fuel line to the front.


Fuel line at the kick-up.


Heat shield for the steering box - kind of close to the manifolds.


Firewall cleaned and painted. Wires bundled and tucked in wherever possible.


Side panels came out pretty good with Rustoleum semi-gloss.


These brackets on both sides have been sandblasted and I'll be painting them this weekend.


Can't wait to get the engine running. Found out that there is a Thunder Racing cam in it.

 

This weekend we made the next major step in the assembly - getting the body down. Here are some pics.











The body is down!. Crap, forgot something.



Much better. It's always the details that make for a successful project.







The crew.



Next up -the wiring.





Rick B.

 

Looks like it is coming along nicely. Great work.

 

Looking good Rick. You took on a big project in a small work area. I always thought my 2 car was way too small. I have way to much stuff in the garage for it to be a good workshop but I have managed. I like that you did the body off. If I had it to do all over again, I would have done the body off too. Great work guys!! Its looking awesome.

 

Rolled it out into the sun today... first time the body has seen daylight in a couple years.









Wheelgap with the VB&P 550 springs is not bad with the lighter LS1.





Waterpump heater hose outlet clearance..

 

Wow what great work

 

That car is going to be sweeeeet when done

We are close enough, maybe you can take me for a ride. I'd like to see how that motor motivates that car. I am sure you wont be disapointed.

Great stuff.

That wiring looks scary though.....

 

I'll have to make sure I get the gaps right before I drive up to your shop. I know the car won't be on the road this year but the goal is to be driving next season.

The wiring for the engine really isn't bad. The harness is all laid out pretty neatly from the factory and everything goes into 2 large connectors that plug into the ECU. I just have to provide power to the ECU and hook everything up and the computer will control the fuel pump, fans, etc. GM did a nice job on the design of the wiring. I'm hoping to be able to post a video of the engine running in the near future.



Rick B.

 

Rick, car looks incredible. Looks like you are moving right along now. Come'on, lets fire that ***** up!!!

Keep rockin'

 

I'm thankful that we got through that weekend without any trips to the ER. 4 days of backbreaking effort. I spent as much time dismantling supports and building the gantry as I did dropping the body. Almost damaged the body when a 1/2" ratchet fell off the top of a step ladder but fortunately something (my head) was in the way to break the fall.

I was suprised at how nicely the body fit on the frame since they were coming together for the first time. The door gaps look pretty even, not a lot of shimming work required.

Last weekend I plugged in the wiring harness and found what I think is a good place for the ECU in the fender well. I've been working on the wiring scheme in my head and I'll start wiring up relays next weekend. It's so close to being able to start that I can smell the gas - wait, I CAN smell the gas. Have to remember to fix the small leak at the pump outlet .

Ran into a couple of small problems underneath the car - the trans yoke was hitting the tunnel - almost fixed, and the e-brake pulley needs to be moved over to the outside of the bracket. Neither of these issues are new, I think others have run into them before.



Rick B.

 

Wow - I missed this thread first time round.

Great work, Rick. Bet you're happy to see the body down again. You lost me with all the LS1 stuff but I can appreciate the chassis work you've done.

How long did you plan for this project to last? Are you on time/budget?

 

It was a huge relief to get the body down - and back up - and back down again without doing a lot of damage. I didn't know how the fit would be since the frame is a replacement but the door gaps align nicely.

I didn't have a timeline for the project but I would have liked to have finished a year ago. I've been more limited by available $ than time. Most of the work is done on weekends and you can only get so much done in 12 hours or so, but I enjoy doing most of the work so I don't get stressed if I don't get much done on a given weekend. Sometimes I run out of parts so I clean and paint things until I gather up some more $.

Budget? Every once in a while I estimate how much more $ I need to finish, spend $500 on parts, estimate again, and I come up with the original number again. A straight LS1/T56 swap is expensive enough, but when I detoured into the side project, the body-off rebuild, there were a lot more parts to buy.

I THINK the 2 most expensive remaining items are the clutch and exhaust system, but there is a big list of other stuff also.



Rick B.

 

Looking really awesome. Any new updates on your project?

 

 

Looks great Rick.........

BTW do you have any pics of the body lift rig ? I'll be doing something like that this year.

Scott

 

After a long and snowy winter we reached another milestone today. The wiring took a while because I didn't want to just Bubba things together. My goal was to 1. do it once. and 2. Not burn up the Vette.

I mounted the computer on a bracket attached to the washer bottle and shoehorned the whole thing into the passenger side fender well.



The fuses and relays for most of the computer wiring are in the jack well behind the passenger seat. Water pump and fan relays are in the engine compartment so the wiring could be shorter.





Today we saw the engine run for more than 2 seconds for the first time. I bought a VATS bypass module that I/m going to mount on a plug so we will have an anti-theft system in the car in addition to an alarm. Love the sound of that cam.



Next up is the clutch system and then it will be ready to move under its own power.



Rick B.

 

Thanks so much for the update! I've been following your VintageAir project and by the looks of it, it'll be a little while longer before you can update us on how well the a/c works. Great work!!!! Thanks again!

Bob

 

Bob,

You must have me confused with someone else. No AC in my car. I have something much better. How could you top Astro-Ventillation?



Rick B.

 

Absolutely beautiful!

I'm interested in your fuel lines & fuel pump as I'm putting an L98 in my C3.